Love and Food (11 page)

              “It’s okay.  It’s not your fault that she got cancer.”

              “So, Maggie died?”

              “She did.  They tried radiation and chemotherapy, but Maggie stopped taking the treatments because they were making her more sick than the actually cancer was.  We just keep her comfortable with different pain medications and eventually, she passed away in her sleep, which I think was a blessing.”

              “How long ago did she pass away?”

              “It’s been about ten years now.”

              “Do you think that you will every date again?”

              “I do.  I just haven’t found anyone that has been worth dating.  It’s not that I’m trying to find someone just like Maggie, but I’m looking for a woman that knocks my socks off.  I want to be with someone that makes my heart beat faster when I’m around them, you know what I mean?  That may seem unrealistic, but it’s what I’m looking for.”

              “I think that you should never settle.  If you want to be with someone that makes your heart flutter, then that is who you should be with.”

              “I’ll drink to that,” he says, raising his glass to his lips and taking a sip of wine.  “Well, I better get going.  It’s late and I have an early morning.”

              “Okay,” she says, thinking about what he told her about Maggie.

              “I would like to thank you for a fantastic evening,” he says as they walk to the front door of the restaurant.’

              “It was my pleasure.  I felt nice to cook for someone and be a part of something special again.”

              “You know, I was watching you in that kitchen and you could not stop smiling.  I saw it in your eyes - you were absolutely loving every single second of preparing the dish you made.”

              “It’s true.  I haven’t had that much fun in a while.  Thank you for giving me back the fire in my belly for cooking.  If you hadn’t pushed me, it may have never happened.”

              “Sometimes, we just need a little push – a little help sometimes.”

              “Well, thank you so much,” she says, looking him in the eyes.

              “No, thank you,” he says and leans down and kisses her.

              She finds herself returning his kiss.  When he wraps her in his arms and brings her closer, she doesn’t resist.  She likes the way that his lips feel on hers.  She doesn’t want him to stop.  Suddenly Kyle’s voice rings loud in her ears and his face flashes before he eyes.  She pulls away from Ethan.  “Ethan, I can’t do this.”

              “Haillee…”

              “Ethan, I’m with Kyle.  We’re engaged.  I can’t.”

              “I know, but Haillee, I told you earlier that I try to be as honest as I can be at all times, so can I be honest with you?”

              “Of course you can.”

              “Well, I’ve seen you and Kyle together.  I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but when I see you two and the way that you interact, I can tell that something isn’t right.  It seems like there is a disconnect between the two of you.  When I see you two together, I don’t think love.  When I picture two people that are in love and I compare you and Kyle to the people I have known that have been deeply in love, you and Kyle don’t seem to measure up.  I’ve been watching you, Haillee, and I like what I see.  I think that you and I could be something, I really do.”

              “Ethan, with all due respect, you don’t really know Kyle and I that well.”

              “All I’m saying is what I’ve observed and how I feel about what I’ve observed.  Am I wrong in my observations?”

              She can’t outright disagree with his statements because she and Kyle have been having problems.  She doesn’t doubt that their problems are showing up in the way that they interact with each other, but to say that they aren’t in love seems a bit of a stretch to her.  “Kyle and I have had some problems lately, but we’re working them out.  We are very much in love, so I have to say that your observations are incorrect.”

              “Well, I’m sorry then.  I must have misread things, and really, it’s none of my business.  I apologize for kissing you.  It was inappropriate and it won’t ever happen again.  I hope that we can continue our business relationship.”

              The exchange has been awkward, to say the very least, but a stupid kiss is not going to be enough for her to fire Ethan.  Ethan has done so many positive things for her and the restaurant.  It would be a big mistake for her to let all of that go because of a kiss.  “Ethan, I accept your apology.  Let’s pretend that this never happened, okay?  Let’s just continue on with our plans and make the restaurant a success.”

              “Let’s do that.  Well, I better leave now, before I put my foot in my mouth any further.”

              “Sounds like a good plan.  I will be in touch.”

              “Okay.  You have a good evening.”

              “You as well,” she says and locks the restaurant door behind him.  When he is gone, she sits back down in her seat and looks over her and Ethan’s dinner dishes.  She analyzes the interactions that she’s had with Ethan and wanders if she’s been giving off any vibes that would lead Ethan to believe that she is available.  She doesn’t think so, but she can’t be sure.  It’s hard to know the impression or the signals that you’re giving out to people.  It’s too subjective of a thing.

She thinks about what he said about her and Kyle.  Is he right about her and Kyle not being in love?  Her relationship with Kyle is definitely strained.  There is no doubt about that.  Do their interactions indicate that they have fallen completely out of love?  It’s another thing that she can’t be sure of. 

The kiss was a mistake.  Or was it?  The thing that concerns her the most is that when Ethan kissed her, she kissed him back.  What does that mean?  Does that mean that she doesn’t love Kyle anymore, because that is not what she feels in her heart?  Or is it?  She hates to admit it to herself, but when Ethan was kissing her, she liked it.  It felt good being in the arms of a man who found her attractive in the moment.  She is so confused.

She starts to clean up the dishes from the meal.  She decides that she is going to push the kiss from her mind and chalk it up to one big mistake that should have never happened.  She vows to never revisit it in her mind because it would just be a waste of time.  Mistakes happen all the time.  People kiss and then they immediately want to take it back.  That is what happened tonight.  At least on her end.

* * * * *
 

              Haillee is sitting in her office going over some orders when the private investigator she hired knocks on her office door.  She is surprised to see Pam.  When she sees the look on Pam’s face, her heart drops. 

“Pam!  I’m surprised to see you.  What are you doing here,” she says, standing up and motioning for the private investigator to come in.  She closes her office door.  Whatever Pam has to tell her, she doesn’t want anyone else to hear.

              “Hi.  I tried calling you, but I couldn’t get an answer.  The delivery guys let me in.  I hope that is okay.”

              “Of course.  It’s totally fine.  I was so engrossed in my paperwork that I’ve been ignoring my calls and I haven’t been checking my messages.  Sit down.  Is there something wrong?”

              “Well, the reason that I’m here is not a good one.  Unfortunately, I have bad news,” Pam says, sitting down.

              Slowly she walks to her seat behind her desk and sits down.  She’s afraid to speak, but she knew when she hired Pam that things could turn out badly.  She is prepared for what Pam might say next. She takes a deep breath before speaking.   “It’s obviously bad news about Kyle.  What did you find out?”

              “Well, I have some photographs that you should see,” Pam says, reaching into her bag and pulling out a folder. 

Pam hands the folder to her.  She takes the folder, places it on her desk and takes another deep breath.  It’s the moment of truth.  Whatever the photos reveal, it’s going to change her life forever. 

She opens the folder and finds black and white photographs of Kyle and Stella.  She expected to find some mystery woman, but she isn’t shocked to see Kyle and Stella together.  The first photograph shows Kyle and Stella standing beside Kyle’s car and they are kissing.  A feeling of pure disgust washes over her.  He doesn’t even have the decency to hide what he’s doing.  They are standing right out in the open and embracing for all the world to see.  The next photo shows them going into what she guesses is Stella’s home.  The next photograph shows Kyle and Stella standing together in a window.  Kyle is lifting Stella’s shirt over her head.  She slams the folder shut.  She doesn’t have to see anymore.  It’s obvious what’s going on.  There can be no mistaking what she has just seen.  Kyle has been lying to her and he probably never ended things with Stella.  They have been continuing their affair behind her back. 

“I’ve seen enough.  Can I keep this photos?” she asks Pam, trying to hold back tears.

“The folder is yours.  I’m really sorry, Haillee.  I know those photographs are hard to look out, but you wanted the truth.”

“I did and now I have it.  You did an awesome job.  Thank you so much.”

“I’m never happy when I find out things like what you’ve seen in that folder, but I’m glad that I am able to help you.  There is nothing that pisses me off more than someone being cheated on and lied to.  That’s why I do this job.  I take great joy in bringing people like Kyle into the light.”

“I’ve been suspicious, obviously.  I wouldn’t have hired you if I wasn’t.  I’m glad that I got the answers that I’ve been looking for, even if they aren’t the ones that I wanted.”

“I’m glad to be able to help.  Before I go, let me just say this, you are a wonderful woman, don’t let what’s happen make you think otherwise.  Kyle obviously doesn’t care about how lucky he is, but there is someone out there who will recognize that he’s hit the jackpot to have someone like you in his life.  There’s a person out there waiting for you at this very moment.  Don’t let Kyle taint your future relationships.”

“I don’t plan on it.  Thank you again, Pam, for everything you have done.”

“It’s been my pleasure.  I’m sorry that it hasn’t been a happy ending.”

“Me too,” she says, shaking Pam’s hand across her desk.

“Well, you have a lot to think about and I will leave you to it,” Pam says, gathering her things and standing up to leave.  “If it’s any consolation, I think that you’re restaurant looks amazing.  They say that the best revenge is to do well and I think that you’re restaurant is going to be a hit.”

“I really hope so.  You’re on the invite list for the reopening.  I hope you can come.”

“I will be here.  Good luck,” Pam says and leaves, closing her office door behind her.

She sits in her office chair and stares at the closed folder.  She has never hated anyone as much as she hates Kyle at this moment.  She is angry, but mostly she is embarrassed.  She is embarrassed that she allowed herself to fall for his lies and his deceptions again.  She is angry with herself that she let him weasel his way back into her heart, only to rip it out and stomp on it again.  She feels humiliated all over again, but this time it’s worse.  He’s played her for a fool.

She takes off her engagement ring and whips it at the closed door to her office.  When she gets up to pick it up off the floor, she finds that the stone has come out of the setting.  It sits in two pieces on the floor.  It’s the perfect representation of her and Kyle’s relationship.  They used to be a unit and now they sit separate and broken.  She picks up the pieces of her ring and leans against the door of her office.  She slides down to the floor with the pieces of the broken ring tightly clasped in her hand.  She can’t fight the tears any longer.  They slide down her face.  She doesn’t bother to wipe them away.

* * * * *

              Marcos stands in the dining room of his restaurant and watches the old sign to Haillee’s restaurant come down.  He admires the new sign as it sits against the side of the restaurant waiting to be put into its new place.  He hates to admit it, but the new sign and the new name of the restaurant is extraordinary.  The sign and the new name are a lot more elegant and modern.

He has to give it to Haillee.  She said she wasn’t going to go down without a fight and she kept true to her word.  He hadn’t expected a renovation or a reopening.  He wonders where she came up with the money.  He expected that her restaurant would just die and go away.  All the signs pointed to closure.  To see all the activity around Haillee’s restaurant is not what he expected at all.

When he found out that Ethan Saint was behind the reinvigoration of the restaurant, he was shocked and more than disappointed.  He’s seen Ethan’s work before and he knows what the man is capable of.  Ethan is a master at what he does and if he is able to do for Haillee what he’s done in the past for others, the space across the street will not be available for a very long time.  He will not get what he wants and that is not an option.

He thought that the acquisition of the space across the street was going to be easy.  He thought that he had it in the bag already.  There was no worry in his thoughts.  It was a sure thing.  He was sitting easy, until he witnessed all the activity across the street.  The odds have changed.  They are no longer in his favor, but he is not going to give up on his plans so easily.  Haillee isn’t the only one who can put up a good fight. 

It’s obvious that he is going to have to spring into action.  The days of sitting by and expecting the inevitable to happen are over.  He has to come up with a new plan.  He is going to have to throw a very large monkey wrench into Haillee’s plans. 

A smile starts to creep onto his face.  He thinks that he has come up with something that is perfect to order.  It’s wonderful what the mind can come up with when you need it to.  He’s always been wonderful at hatching the perfect plan and he has one to get what he wants and steal Haillee’s space right out from under her.

“This isn’t over, Haillee,” he says, turning his back to the window and walking back to his office.

Chapter 8

              “It’s over,” she says to Kyle when he walks through the door of the apartment. 

              “What the hell are you talking about, Haillee?” Kyle says, stopping in his tracks and staring at her.

              “Just what I said.  You and I are over and it’s for good this time,” she says, trying to stay as calm as possible.  She doesn’t want to let him see how much he’s affected her. 

              “What are you talking about?”

              “Why don’t you tell me about this,” she says, picking up the folder of photographs that Pam gave her and flinging them in his directions.  The photos fly out of the folder and land all around his feet.  He looks down and stares at them.

              “Where did you get these?” he asks, picking one up and looking at it.

              “I hired someone to follow you.  I’ve had suspicions for a while now and I needed to know if they were accurate or if I was just being paranoid.  It turns out my suspicions were accurate.  You’ve still been seeing Stella.  Not only seeing her, but sleeping with her.”

              “Haillee…”

              “Save it, Kyle.  You’re lies aren’t going to work anymore.  There is nothing that you could possibly say that is going to change the facts.  The proof is right there.  We’re done.  This wasn’t my decision, it was yours.  The minute you went back to Stella it was over for us.”

              “Haillee, I’m sorry,” he says, sitting down and taking her hand.

              She rips her hand away from him.  “It’s not enough this time, Kyle.  I can’t forgive you this time.  I gave you another chance and you blew it.  There are no more chances.”

              “The reason I kept seeing Stella is because of that damn restaurant.  We ended right back where we started.  You stopped spending time with me again.  You started ignoring me again.”
              “It’s not going to work this time, Kyle.  The days of you blaming me for our problems is over.  I don’t accept it and I don’t believe it.  There was a time when you had me convinced, but not anymore.  You faced the exact same decision as before and you made the same choices.  You learned absolutely nothing from last time.  You’ve shown me what I mean to you and that’s nothing.  I can’t do this again.”

              “Haillee, can’t we just talk about these.  Can’t we just talk this through?”

              “Absolutely not.  I’m not going to say it again.  We’re over for good.  I want you to get some clothes and leave.  We can arrange for you to come and get the rest of your stuff another time.”

              “Haillee…”

              “Now, Kyle.  It’s over.  There is nothing more to talk about.  It would just be beating a dead horse.  I’ve made up my mind and I’m not changing it.”
              “Fine.  I’ll go along with this for now, but you love me Haillee and I love you.  Nothing is going to change that.”

              “You’ve changed it, Kyle.  I may have loved you at one time, but those days are over and they’re never coming back.  Please just get your things and leave.”

              She watches him gather up some clothes and grab a couple of things from the bathroom.  She wishes that he would hurry up, but she doesn’t say anything.  She decides that it’s better just to keep her mouth shut.  When he is finished, she gives him the broken pieces of her engagement ring.  She never wants to see it again. 

“Please give me my keys,” she says, looking him dead in the eyes.  She hopes that her stare is showing him that she means business.

              He pulls out his keys from his pocket and slides her keys off the key ring.  He opens his mouth to try and say something, but she cuts him off.  “Don’t,” she says and opens the door to the apartment.  He steps outside the apartment and she slams the door and his face.  As far as she’s concerned - good riddance.  She doesn’t ever want to see him again.  She will be happy when all of his things are out of her apartment.  She doesn’t want any reminders of him around.  She won’t ever be able to forget what’s happened between them, but she wishes she could.  He has been a blot on her life.  She wishes that she hadn’t wasted so much time with him, but hindsight is always 20/20.  She made a mistake getting involved with him, but the mistake ends here.  He will never be able to hurt her again.

* * * * *

              Haillee sits at a table in the restaurant.  She looks around and takes in all the changes.  The restaurant looks magnificent.  From the tables, to the pictures on the wall, to the light fixtures - everything works together so well.  She has enjoyed watching it all come together.  She has enjoyed the entire process.  She’s enjoyed watching the builders to their thing and she thoroughly enjoyed putting together the menu.  She doesn’t take back the decision she made to hire Ethan in the least.  It’s all been worth it. 

Ethan is a genius.  What she is observing as she sits in the dining room would have never been possible without him.  He is a godsend.  That is the only way that she can describe him.  The outcome of the reopening is up in the air, but he has saved her in so many ways, whatever the outcome is.  He’s given her so much and she has given him nothing in exchange.  She feels a little bit guilty.  She hopes that one day she will be able to make it up to him.

She makes her way into the kitchen.  She wants to make sure that Mack is okay with her menu choices.  She’s sure that he is, but she needs to be sure.  “Hi, Mack.  Everything okay in here?” she asks, looking around.

“It’s fine,” he says, abruptness present in his voice.

“You know, Mack, I absolutely loved making the menu.  Ethan had to point it out to me, but I had lost my spark for cooking.  Making the menu gave me the spark back.  It was an awesome experience.  It’s really was.”

“That’s nice, Haillee.”

His response makes her stop checking over things and look at him.  “Is there a problem?” she asks.

“No, there isn’t a problem,” he says curtly.

She can’t help but notice the tone of his voice.  “Mack, you’re upset about the menu, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not upset,” he says, ignoring her gaze.

“Mack, we’ve known each other a long time.  I can tell when you’re upset.  You won’t even look at me.”

“Everything is fine, Haillee.  I’m good in here.  Don’t you have some paperwork to do in your office or something?” he says, turning his back towards her and tending to something on the stove.

“Mack, we’ve been friends for a very long time.  If you have a problem, we should at least be able to talk about it.”

“Like I said, there is nothing wrong.  I’m just busy working on the menu.”

“Mack, please turn around and look at me.”  Mack turns around reluctantly, but won’t look her in the eye.  “Listen, I see now that you’re upset about the menu.  I didn’t change the menu to intentionally hurt you.  You know that, right?”

“I know that, but why didn’t you include me in the making of the new one?”

“Ethan told me that it was something that I should do on my own, and after doing it, I think it was the right decision.  It had nothing to do with your cooking skills, because you are one of the best.  It was just time to try something different.  You understand that, right?”

“I get it, Haillee.  I want to finish up here, if you don’t mind,” Mack says, picking up his knife and beginning to chop vegetables.

“Mack…”

“It’s fine, Haillee.  It really is,” he says, interrupting her.

“Okay, Mack.  I just want you know that you’re my friend and I didn’t mean to hurt you.  You’re like family to me.  I hope you know that I’m very sorry.  I was so caught up with everything and all the changes, I didn’t realize how much I’d hurt you.  I apologize for that.  I hope that someday you’ll forgive me.”

“I was never mad at you, Haillee.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you be,” she says, looking at the floor and leaving the kitchen.  When she is at the doorway, she turns and looks at Mack continuing to chop vegetables.  The angry look on his face is hard to ignore.  She starts to kick herself on her way to her office.  How could she be so insensitive?  She had just assumed that Mack would be onboard with everything that was going on.  She didn’t realize how much the menu had meant to him.

Once she’s inside her office, she starts to wonder what the future holds for her and Mack.  She wonders if she’s going to have to fire him.  She doesn’t want to, but she wants only positive energy in her restaurant once it opens.  She apologized to him and she meant it.  She hopes that he sincerely accepts her apology, so they can move forward and things can be the same way that they were before.  She doesn’t want there to be any animosity between them.  She wasn’t lying when she told him that he was an amazing cook.  She wouldn’t want anyone else in there preparing her menu.  She hopes that as time passes, he’s hurt feelings will die down and he will understand the reasoning behind why she had to create a new menu.  She hopes that he realizes that what she has done is to save the both of them.  If the restaurant survives – they both survive.

She will have to see where things go between her and Mack.  She is not going to jump to any conclusions.  The interaction in the kitchen with Mack and his anger and hurt doesn’t take away from the excitement that she feels about the grand reopening.  It’s the most excited she’s been in a while and she is not going to let Mack get her down.  She’s just going to push it to the back of her mind for now and keep moving forward.